History of Heironeous/Chapter 10
Now when Heironeous heard these whisperings, he turned unto the men who had been slaves, and spake unto them harshly, for he felt their doubt, saying, #Oh ye unwise and foolish men, why whispereth ye that I consort with wickedness, and that mine power be of the devils that dwell beneath? Knoweth ye not that if mine power were of evil, I could not have removed the poison from this man, but would have allowed him to die, that the purposes of evil could be advanced? #For behold, that which is evil produces that which is evil, and that which is good maketh those things that are good, and none which art evil can produce good, nor good evil. #Now I say unto thee, ye hath erred in this thing, and already ye breaketh the oaths of fealty which ye sware unto me, on this day, in this very hour ye breaketh thine oaths. Tell me now herewith what I should do with thee in punishment for the breaking of thine oaths? #And those that whispered against Heironeous, and saith that he consorted with devils, stepped forward out of the gathering of the men who had been slaves, and spake unto him, saying, We have erred, Heironeous, and whispered against thee, #Therefore, doeth unto us as seemeth thee good, even unto the smiting of us unto death, only spare the others whom thou hast free, and leave unto them this city, that they might build up a home for the weak and the defenceless. #And when Heironeous heard these things, his heart was moved within him, and he was filled with mercy, and bade them that knelt to rise, and spake unto them, saying, #Go ye now into this group, and build with them this city, and go unto the hamlets and villages round about, and gather those that hath fled unto the city again, that this city might be a place of peace and safety. #And the men who had been slaves didst go out into the jungles, and gathered together those that had fled, and brought them in unto the city, and they built there a place of refuge, and they built a temple to Heironeous, saying, Our gods whom we worshipped abandoned us to the men who were of the form of serpents, therefore, let us worship this god who walks among us, and freed us from our bondage. #And thus these were the first to revere Heironeous as a god, those whom he had freed from bondage, and armed against their captors, and led into battle. #Now Heironeous was gone from the city fifty days when they raised up the temple, and Alphus, son of Gither, was scouting as a rearguard, and saw the temple, and carried word of it to Heironeous, and told him of the temple. #And when Heironeous heard these things, he spake unto Salan, the son of Roka, saying, Behold, never have I told thee, nor any mortal man, of my mother, for my mother was Stern Alia, who was the goddess of culture and law in the lands from whence I came, and I am her son, and am a god. #And when Salan heard these things, his heart was eased within him, and the hearts of all the fifty and five, for they had revered Heironeous as a god, but had kept this from him, for they feared to embarrass him with their devotions. #And they cried with a loud voice, saying, Heironeous shall be our god, and we shall follow him through this life and into the next. Category:History of Heironeous